UPDATED 7/3, 2:09 p.m. ET: Taraji P. Henson is highlighting the brevity of the human lifespan amid ongoing chatter centered on this past weekend’s BET Awards incident involving Keith Lee.
In a comment left on a recent Instagram post from @morningjuiceboxtv, the Oscar-nominated actress said Lee "wasn’t in his seat" at the time, which caused him to "[miss] his moment." According to Henson, this further led to an impact on Lee’s "ego," though all is well from her perspective.
"I rehearsed all damn day to go hit my mark and that young man wasn’t in his seat so HE MISSED HIS MOMENT!" Henson commented. "His ego is hurt. He will be fine. I cleaned it up at the end of the show. No love lost here."
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Taraji P. Henson took a slight tumble during her gig as host of the BET Awards.
On Sunday, the actress walked through the audience, handing out roses to give people their flowers and celebrate them. She approached the area where Keith Lee and his wife, Ronnie were sitting, next to influencer Jordan Howlett, known on TikTok as Jordan Thee Stallion.
"Mr. Keith Lee, I know what you're thinking right now, this is about a 10.9 outta 10?” she said to Howlett, who then pointed to Lee.
"I got caught up in my own inner monologue, I’m so sorry," she said before repeating the same bit to Lee. "You fine, too," she added. "So call me. Give him his flower."
After the interaction, Lee posted a TikTok of him dropping the rose on the floor, which caused quite a stir. "Our name will be known in every room it's supposed to be, when it's supposed to be, how it's supposed, with no confusion. God is amazing," he captioned the video, per Entertainment Tonight.
Lee further addressed the incident, saying that he isn’t “upset” at Henson, and that she “smoked it” at the awards show.
“I don’t believe for one second Taraji had any ill will or any ill intentions behind the situation,” he added. “The situation happened the way it did.”
He also clarified why he dropped the rose on the floor. “This had nothing to do with Taraji P. Henson,” he explained. “The reason I dropped it on the floor is that I wholeheartedly believe that wasn’t my rose. That wasn’t my rose, that wasn’t my moment—it was given to me but it wasn’t mine.”
Lee said he thought the segment was “extremely rushed” from a production standpoint.
“It did not feel intentional, it did not feel purposeful. I’m forever thankful for every room that I’m in. I was more than thankful and more than grateful to just sit there and enjoy the show,” he said. “So to take me and my wife out of our seats, put us in different seats, give Taraji no direction to who we are or what we do, felt extremely unprepared and unprofessional to me. … For this situation to take away from [Taraji’s] moment and our moment was unfair to both of us.”
He concluded, “Last night, while I appreciate the opportunity, it wasn’t my moment and that’s okay.”
